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How Toyota's 100-year textile history influenced FCV hydrogen fuel cell car

Turns out, Toyota had a surprising ace in the hole when it came to building the new fuel tanks for the FCV hydrogen fuel cell car, which is coming next year. Well before Toyota became the Toyota Motor Company, it was the Toyota Industries Corporation and it made textile looms. This is important because the main structure of the hydrogen tank is wound carbon fiber. When Toyota set out to increase the strength of the tanks to hold hydrogen stored at 10,000 psi (up from 5,000 in the previous tanks), it was able to draw on its 100-year-old history as it designed its car of the future. "A lot of that textile experience came back when we did the tank wrapping." – Justin Ward "We have a lot of experience with textiles," Justin Ward told AutoblogGreen at the 21st World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) in Detroit this week, "and a lot of that textile experience came back when we did the tank wrapping." On top of being able to hold the higher-pressure hydrogen, Toyota's first attempt to build its own hydrogen tank was six times faster than the industry standard, so it saved time and money as well as working better. The company will also be able to inspect its own tanks. Ward is the general manager of powertrain system control at the Toyota Technical Center and hydrogen vehicles are something he knows a lot about. The reason for the stronger, 10,000-psi tanks is because the 5,000-psi tanks only offered around 180-200 miles of range, even with four tanks in the early $129,000 FCHV Highlander hydrogen prototypes. The FCV only has two, but they will able to deliver the 300-mile range that customers told Toyota they wanted. Dropping the number of tanks not only obviously reduced the cost for the tanks themselves but also the number of valves and hoses and other components you need. Despite the benefits of higher compression, going much higher doesn't make sense. 10,000 psi is the "natural progression," Ward said, because "you start to bump up against compression inefficiencies." Think of an air compressor. When hydrogen is produced at a wastewater treatment plant or a reforming site, Ward said, is it at around ambient pressure (14 psi). That has to be raised, using compressors, all the way to 10,000 psi. "That takes energy," Ward said, "and every doubling of pressure adds another doubling of energy needed, so it starts to add up pretty fast if you go too high." Component specifications are also fine at 10,00 psi, but more difficult at higher levels.

Consumer Reports says Toyota, Ford, Honda and Chevy are big winners in brand perception survey

According to Consumer Reports, the automotive brands that stand out in the minds of car buyers are, in order: Toyota, Ford, Honda and Chevrolet. This news comes after the magazine polled its readers, asking them to take into account vehicle quality, safety, performance, value, fuel economy, design/style, and technology/innovation - which are the factors that car shoppers are most influenced by.
It's important to note that this award is only about perception. In other words, it's perceived quality, not actual quality. "Often, perception can be a trailing indicator, reflecting years of good or bad performance in a category, and it can also be influenced by headlines in the media," said Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports deputy automotive editor.
The brand that made the biggest jump in perception amongst Consumer Reports readers is Tesla, which posted an impressive 47-point gain to finish in fifth place. Subaru is also notable for finishing in the top 10, despite being one of the smaller manufacturers doing business in the US. Scroll down below for all the details from Consumer Reports, if you're so inclined.

Toyota and Lexus will have standard automatic braking by 2017

Last week, NHTSA and IIHS announced that 20 auto manufacturers and three agencies had agreed to include automatic emergency braking (AEB) as standard equipment by 2022. Toyota was one of those 20 companies, but this week they upped the AEB ante: Nearly every Toyota and Lexus model and trim level will have standard AEB by 2017. That's next year. Many models already offer AEB as part of the Lexus Safety System+ and Toyota Safety Sense packages, but consumers have had to pay extra for these options (unless they leased a Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle; it already has AEB as standard equipment.) By the end of next year, all but the Lexus GS, Toyota 4Runner and Toyota 86 — which was developed together with Subaru — will have AEB installed at no extra cost. (Interestingly, the new Prius Prime unveiled at the New York International Auto Show has Safety Sense as an option rather than standard equipment.) The AEB function is part of Toyota's safety suites, which will be included in 25 Lexus and Toyota models. Both makes have a precollision system that detects the possibility of collision with the car ahead and engages the brakes if the driver doesn't react quickly enough, as well as lane departure alerts and automatic high beams. Toyota's move leapfrogs ahead of Honda making its Honda Sensing system, which includes AEB tech, available as a flat $1,000 option on every Civic Sedan. Related Video: This article by Kristen Hall-Geisler originally ran on TechCrunch, a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news.